BELIZE OXTAIL STEW                             Healthy Whole Food Recipes For Your Dog 

  

Many in the south grew up with oxtail stew, a deeply rich, hearty stew perfect for cold days. You don't find them that often in the market, so when they appear I'll usually pick up a few pounds. The oxtail is the tail of a steer, usually cut into segments. It is a flavorful, tough cut, perfect for slow braising in stews or soups, well marbled with fat, and here's the best part, the bones have a ton of collagen, so good for making a gelatinous stock. Oxtail stew is served all over Belize. Unlike the thick and hearty stew I found in Georgia the Belize stew is relatively light with a thin broth and seasonings from ginger, orange, and cilantro. What a combination! The flavors just sparkle together. By the way, although oxtails are often hard to find at regular markets, Costco often carries them. Belize Oxtail Soup Recipe An odd ingredient, one that isn't readily accessible in the stores around the northeastern parts of PA. at least, is dried orange peel. Apparently you can buy it pretty easily in Belize. What I did for this ingredient is I used a vegetable peeler to strip off a long strip of peel (just the zest) from an orange. This I set on a shelf in my kitchen for a week to dry out. It worked great. I wondered why one would use the dried and not fresh orange peel and I think perhaps it's because of the long cook time; maybe the dried peel holds up better to long cooking? I did think ahead to dry the peel, or you could just use a couple teaspoons of orange zest instead.

INGREDIENTS 3 lbs oxtails 1 strip dried orange peel 1 celery rib, chopped 1 carrot, chopped 2 cups beef or chicken stock 1 2-inch piece of fresh garlic, thinly sliced 1/8 teaspoon chili pepper flakes (or more to taste) A handful of fresh mustard greens, coarsely chopped (about 2 cups, loosely packed) Garnishes Fresh cilantro, chopped Freshly grated ginger METHOD 1. Bring a large pot (5-quart), half filled with water, to a boil. Add the oxtails. Parboil for 30 minutes. Drain the pot. Rinse the oxtails in water. Trim the oxtails of any excess fat. 2. Add the chopped carrot, and celery to the pan. Cook for a few minutes until the carrots are tender. Add the oxtails back to the pan. Add the whole garlic cloves, the beef stock. Add bay leaf, thyme, and half a teaspoon of salt. Bring to simmer. Reduce heat to low. Cover and cook for 3 hours, until meat is fork tender. 3. One hour before the meat is done, heat oven on 350°F. Toss carrots, parsnips, and turnips in olive oil in a roasting pan. Sprinkle well with salt and pepper. Roast vegetables for 1 hour, or until lightly browned and cooked through. 4. When meat is tender, remove oxtails from the cooking liquid. Either skim the fat off the top with a spoon, use a fat separator to remove the fat, or chill the cooking liquid for several hours so that the fat solidifies, making it easier to remove. If you are making ahead, at this point you can just put the stew in the refrigerator (let come to room temp first), with the oxtails still in it, and let it chill over night. The next day, scrape off the fat, reheat and then remove the meat from the dish.

5. Pour the cooking liquid through a mesh strainer into a bowl, using a rubber spatula to press against the vegetable solids caught in the strainer. Discard the solids. Return the liquid to the pan and simmer until reduced by half. Then add back in the oxtails, and add the roasted vegetables to the pan. Heat on low heat for half an hour for the flavors to meld. Add some chopped parsley before serving. 6. Bring soup to a simmer. Add the chili pepper flakes and mustard greens. Cook for 5 more minutes, or until the mustard greens are tender. Serve with garnishes of chopped fresh cilantro, green onions, and freshly grated ginger. If you want, you can strip the meat off the bones before serving. Your dog will prefer the meat served bone-in, in which case you will want to provide a bowl for the bones.

                          

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